In their first regular season meeting in 1,766 days, LeBron James and Kevin Durant went toe-to-toe in a nail-biting finish at Crypto.com Arena as the Lakers roared home for a 100-95 comeback win.
Entering the fourth quarter trailing by eight points, the Lakers outscored the Suns 28-11 in the final frame, with James coming up with a pair of clutch buckets down the stretch to give the Lakers their first win of the season in their home opener.
Despite talk of a minutes restriction after their first game, James played 35 minutes — including the entire fourth quarter — recording 21 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Anthony Davis finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks in the win.
With Bradley Beal and Devin Booker missing tonight’s game due to injury, Durant took center stage for the Suns on offense, pouring in 39 points and 11 rebounds on 14-of-28 shooting — passing Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time scoring list in the process.
The Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights from Lakers vs Suns. Check out all of the action you may have missed right here.
Lakers vs Suns score
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Lakers 18 30 24 28 100 Suns 30 22 32 11 95 Lakers vs Suns final score, results from LeBron James and Kevin Durant showdown
(All times Eastern)
Final score: Lakers 100, Suns 95
12:43 a.m. — The Lakers hold on to get the W in their home-opener, completing a huge fourth-quarter comeback.
12:37 a.m. — KING JAMES! LeBron scores on back-to-back possessions to put the Lakers up by four. He’s got 10 points in the fourth and 21 in the game. Lakers lead 95-91.
12:36 a.m. — Durant finishes through contact to tie things up at 91-91. With that bucket, he moves past Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time scoring list.
12:27 a.m. — LeBron with the big bucket! He splits the defense and gets the layup to go to put the Lakers in front 89-87 with 3:23 remaining. We’ve got a blockbuster finish coming up at Crypto.com Arena!
12:26 a.m. — Both teams are struggling to get their offenses going down the stretch. The Lakers are just 4-of-15 from the field, while the Suns are 1-of-11.
12:19 a.m. — Nurkic misplaces the pass to Durant for the Suns’ seventh turnover of the fourth. He heads to the bench. Suns lead 87-84.
12:18 a.m. — Jusuf Nurkic picks up his fifth foul with 7:09 remaining in the fourth. He’ll stay in the game.
12:15 a.m — The Lakers get a stop and race out on a 4-on-1 break, but somehow can’t get a score. That’s a big missed opportunity and Suns lead 87-82.
12:11 a.m. — Durant answers the Lakers 8-0 run with a triple to keep the Suns in the lead. He’s up to 33 points.
12:09 a.m. — The Lakers start the fourth quarter with a bang, with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to six points. Suns in front 84-78.
End of third quarter: Suns 84, Lakers 72
12:02 a.m. — Kevin Durant is putting on a show tonight — 30 points on 17 shots. He needs 37 points tonight to pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time scoring list.
11:53 p.m. — Despite Nurkic being the only traditional big man in the Suns rotation tonight, they’re still outrebounding the Lakers 36-26 tonight.
11:46 p.m. — Jordan Goodwin again! He’s got 12 points off the bench for the Suns.
11:42 p.m. — Anthony Davis with the SWAT! That’s his third block of the game.
11:43 p.m. — The Lakers have been unstoppable in the paint, converting 74 percent of their shots, but they continue to struggle from the 3-point line, connecting on just 28 percent (5-of-18).
11:40 p.m. — No Booker, no Beal, no problem. Erick Gordon is giving the Suns a huge boost on offense, with 15 points!
11:38 p.m. — OK Austin Reaves! He scores on back-to-back plays to cut the lead to 60-59.
11:35 p.m. — D’Angelo Russell weaves his way into the paint with the slick euro!
11:15 p.m. — The Lakers cut the deficit to four points heading into the half, led by LeBron and AD who have 11 points apiece. D’Angelo Russell has 10 at the break.
Kevin Durant leads the Suns with a game-high 15 points, despite attracting a TON of attention from the Lakers’ defense.
11:11 p.m. — KD is heating up! The Suns are now 5-of-5 since he checked back into the game. He’s up to a game-high 13 points. Suns lead 50-47.
11:04 p.m. — Durant checks back into the game for Phoenix with 5:55 remaining in Q2.
11:02 p.m. — Davis splashes the triple to give the Lakers the lead, 38-35.
11:00 p.m. — Here comes LeBron!
The Lakers turn defense into offense as Gabe Vincent feeds LeBron for the baseline dunk. That’s now 11 assists on 15 made field goals.
It’s now a 20-5 run since Durant went to the bench after playing all 12 minutes in Q1.
10:50 p.m. — The Lakers have kicked into gear to start the second, taking advantage of the Suns’ second unit, with a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 35-31. Timeout Suns.
End of first quarter: Suns 30, Lakers 18
10:41 p.m. — The Suns go into the first break with a 12-point lead, holding the Lakers to just 8-of-23 (34.8%) shooting.
Goodwin and Gordon lead the Suns with seven points apiece, while Durant has six points and three rebounds.
10:34 p.m. — Phoenix is making it rain from deep in Q1 as they make it a 21-5 run to take a double-digit lead with LeBron James off the floor. Eric Gordon and Jordan Goodwin have made the difference early tonight. Suns lead 26-16.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are just 2-of-11 from the field!
10:30 p.m. — The Nurk to KD connection putting in work tonight.
10:26 p.m. — The Lakers are putting on the clamps on the defensive end, contesting shots, fighting for loose balls. This is exactly what Darvin ham wants to see. They lead 16-14.
10:18 p.m. — The Lakers are off to a fast start in their home opener, racing out to a 9-3 lead!
Anthony Davis has been aggressive at the rim to start the contest, with five of LA’s first nine points.
Pregame
Here’s how both teams will line up tonight to start:
Lakers
- D’Angelo Russell
- Austin Reaves
- Taurean Prince
- LeBron James
- Anthony Davis
Suns
- Eric Gordon
- Grayson Allen
- Josh Okogie
- Kevin Durant
- Jusuf Nurkic
9:30 p.m. — LeBron getting loose ahead of tip-off! It’s nearly game time.
9:20 p.m. — “I’m looking forward to hooping against arguably the best ever,” Durant on LeBron.
9:00 p.m. — The last time we saw LeBron and Durant two square off in a regular season game came back in 2918 on Christmas Day!
The head-to-head numbers paint a pretty picture.
What channel is Lakers vs Suns on?
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 26
- TV channel: TNT
- Live streaming: Sling TV
Lakers vs Suns will air on TNT. Sling TV will also offer a streaming option. Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play duties alongside analysts Reggie Miller and Candace Parker. Jared Greenberg will report from the sideline.
Fans in the U.S. can watch the biggest games of the 2023-24 NBA season on Sling TV, which is now offering HALF OFF your first month! Sling base packages (Sling Orange or Sling Blue) start at just $20 for your first month, or you can get Sling Orange + Blue starting at $27.50 for your first month. There are no long-term contracts, and you can change your channel lineup anytime. DVR is included along with thousands of on-demand shows and movies.
Lakers vs Suns start time
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 26
- Time: 10 p.m. ET
Lakers vs Suns from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles will tip off around 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local time) on Thursday, Oct. 26.
Lakers schedule 2023-24
Here are Los Angeles’ first five games of the 2023-24 regular season:
Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result TV channel Oct. 24 at Nuggets L, 119-107 TNT Oct. 26 vs Suns 10 p.m. TNT Oct. 29 at Kings 9 p.m. — Oct. 30 vs Magic 10:30 p.m. NBA TV Nov. 1 vs Clippers 10 p.m. ESPN
Suns schedule 2023-24
Here are Phoenix’s first five games of the 2023-24 regular season:
Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result TV channel Oct. 24 at Warriors W, 108-104 TNT Oct. 26 at Lakers 10 p.m. TNT Oct. 28 vs Jazz 10 p.m. NBA TV Oct. 31 vs Spurs 10 p.m. TNT Nov. 2 vs Spurs 10 p.m. NBA TV
